More than 3500 Canberrans are due to receive a letter from the Eurobodalla Shire Council mayor, pleading with them to put their vacant holiday homes onto the rental market as South Coast families live in tents.
Eurobodalla mayor Mathew Hatcher is asking ratepayers with a second home on the South Coast to consider renting their properties for the next one to two years.
The request comes amid a rental crisis, which has seen more than 50 local households living on "primitive" campgrounds for the winter.
Over a third of second properties on the South Coast are owned by Canberrans, with 3553 of the 8085 letters en route to ACT addresses.
"Our shire, like many others, is in the midst of a housing crisis," Cr Hatcher wrote in the letter.
"Our records suggest you may have a secondary residence or holiday house in the Eurobodalla, and if that is the case I am writing to seek your help.
Mayor writes to homeowners for help
"Would you and your family consider placing your property into our local rental market for the next 12-24 months?
"I am asking because we need to address the lack of rental properties in our community right now," Cr Hatcher continued, writing that local councils have limited powers to address housing crises, but are doing their best.
The shire, which spans popular South Coast holiday locations, lost more than 500 homes during the 2019-20 bushfire season.
This is the second time the council has asked homeowners for help, after an appeal following the fires saw 80 properties put onto the rental market.
If just 1 per cent of Canberrans with second homes on the South Coast took up the call, it would go a long way to getting those 50 households living in campgrounds into permanent accommodation, Cr Hatcher said.
"We're asking for those people who can, that they reach out and really try and help his community," Cr Hatcher said.
Kids sleep in campgrounds as houses sit idle
"I know it's not ideal, but we're not in ideal situations.
"This is a crisis and we've come off the back of bushfires and the pandemic."
"It's incredibly painful to think about," Cr Hatcher said of those stuck sleeping rough in the cold as the crisis escalates.
"Us lucky ones who are sitting in houses at night with heaters and knowing that I've got two kids, if I had to think about sleeping in a car with my two kids, it would be incredibly frustrating watching houses on streets and in the suburbs that are just sitting there idle."
The council has lifted the 50-day limit at campgrounds and added facilities such as shower units. It is also investigating a project which would provide tiny homes for those experiencing homelessness.
It supports the NSW government's $500 million commitment to build more housing, but urged more investment in short-term fixes and regulation, including building more social and crisis housing in the area.
Melissa Franzen, the licensee of South Coast Property Specialists, welcomed the move and said it made financial sense for second homeowners.
"A lot of houses do sit empty down here on the coast for quite a long period of time," she said.
"And with rental prices being so strong, you can rent your house out for $400 or $500 a week - as an average ballpark price - and you can get a pretty decent holiday for that kind of annual return compared to just using it for two weeks yourself."
Beyond that "it's just something that the community needs at the moment", Ms Franzen said, having seen first-hand that renters are suffering.
"We're the people who have to see the same people come in every week looking for rentals and just not be able to find them, and the main deterrent at the moment if people are finding rentals is the price," she said.
"While those rental prices have really increased the base income of the bulk of our rental market hasn't changed at all."
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